5 things you do that cause high employee turnover
For me and, after talking to other small businesses, for others too, employee turnover is a huge issue. When you only employ a handful of people, if one of them leaves it creates a real hole. And that’s before you even get started on the cost of replacing them and the productivity issues and lower morale caused by others having to cover their work. So the more we, as businesses, can do to keep our top talent, the better, right? But how?
While it will probably come as no surprise to hear that base pay is still top of the list of drivers for both employee attraction and retention, the good news is that many of the things we can do to reduce turnover are relatively simple to implement. The even better news is that most of them needn’t cost a fortune.
Obviously, you can’t retain 100% of your staff (although it would be nice if we could). But you can start to think about trying to change some of the things that may be causing high employee turnover. Here are five things that employees cite as things their employers do that cause them to quit and some thoughts and ideas on how to avoid them.
Being a horrible boss
With 28% of employees saying they would rather have a better boss than a $5,000 raise, it’s clear that a good boss is something employees rate highly. But what is being a good boss all about?
While different people are likely to have differing opinions on what makes a good boss – for some the human element is most important, whereas for others it could be their boss’s ability to push them to achieve new things – I think there are several characteristics that are universal in good bosses.
When I think back to my first few jobs, how much I liked and respected my boss played a huge role in how high my morale was and, ultimately, how long I stuck with the company. Looking back, for me, “liking” my boss was about me trusting him or her and all the things that go with that: being treated with respect, knowing my manager had my back, being listened to and encouraged, being treated as an adult (I’d had a couple of positions where my manager thought I was their child!) and not being micro-managed.
Interestingly, according to a 2015 Society for Human Resource (SHRM) survey, being a good boss may not be as complicated as we may think.
- Respectful treatment of all employees at all levelstopped the chart as the leading contributor to job satisfaction. Nearly three-fourths (72%) of employees deemed this aspect to be “very important” to their job satisfaction.
- 64% of employees reported thattrust between employees and senior managementwas “very important” to their job satisfaction, making it the second highest contributor to job satisfaction.
In my experience, strong leaders inspire hard work, and good managers who are open and honest and listen to thoughts and opinions tend to run effective teams.
Oh, and don’t underestimate how far a bit of recognition goes – everyone likes a shout-out for a job well done. Some people may like a public shout-out, while others may prefer a quiet “thank you”. Knowing your team is what it’s all about.
What is the difference between being a good and an amazing boss? Tune in next week.
Highest regards,
Stacia
[USM_plus_form]